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Market focus
Inset: Aimed at providing style, value and practicality, BergHOFF’s Leo On the Go range includes a bento box that could be used for salads or leftover pasta in one box and fruit in the other, as well as a dual lunch pot and travel cutlery set.
Get set, store and go Love your lunch There are a multitude of options for taking food on the go: shapes, materials and styles. The ‘on the go’ food and hydration sector is benefiting from the barrage of media coverage highlighting the global problem of waste plastics, coupled with health conscious consumers who want to control their diet and consume less sugar. Of course, there are huge savings to be made from homemade lunches too: ‘Up to £75,” notes Innova Products’ marketing
Re-usable vessels for food and drink have never been so appealing as consumers seek to cut down on waste. PH looks at the evolution of a growing sector that embraces kitchen storage plus lunch and hydration on the go.
manager Kelly West, as well as the benefits of cutting down food waste. Nick Cornwell, managing director at Black + Blum highlights rising sales: “The first GFK quarterly POS index published in July posted an annual rise in sales of 12% for the lunchbox and thermo flasks sector – with no other category in the housewares sector showing anywhere near this growth rate.” BergHOFF UK’s marketing director, Paula Leggett also recognises that: “Eating ‘al desko’ is becoming much more popular, with consumers keen to have
control over what they eat away from the home (even if they’re not following a diet or health regime).” Moreover, there is a wealth of inspiration to take lunches beyond a limp cheese sandwich as: “The media and influencers are increasingly sharing tasty recipes that are healthbased or more recently perhaps more economically-driven!” ClickClack’s Daily range (by Innova Products, distributed by Beam Group) offers a wide range of sizes, which are leak-proof with durable clips to secure lids. Innova Products’ Kelly West notes that these are
Let’s drink to style statements
Inset: One of the many designs of Cambridge Sippy Mugs from UPGS.
Auteur’s managing director, Vivienne Cudahy recognises the major shift towards reusable hydration products, with David Attenborough’s Blue Planet series altering the “the mindset of the nation.” The company has introduced Stojo, Hip and Roll’eat (for food on the go) within the last 18 months, and has now welcomed Corkcicle to its portfolio, a brand that is renowned for its innovation in design, colour and patterns (including its latest collection with Rifle Paper Co). Vivienne reports: “Despite the general doom and gloom that we are all reading about in the British High Street, the hydration market is still a growth sector; sales here at Auteur are growing in double digits.” She recognises that water bottles provide a personal statement: “In the same way that you carry your mobile phone, the water bottle has become a staple of our everyday, it goes everywhere we do. And as such it has become a branded reflection of our own personal design aesthetics. Carrying a water bottle has become a statement of self expression; it is often a talking point, taking prime position sitting on meeting room tables for everyone to admire.” Vivienne concludes: “Single use plastic is now a taboo, and seen as an emergency fall back particularly amongst the millennial consumer.” Keeping an eye on fashion, iconic brand Sigg has updated its portfolio with pastel additions to its lightweight, leakproof Traveller Touch collection. Moreover, Valerie Graham has introduced Swig, a US brand developed for the style conscious woman on the move. Tracee Mathes, founder and ceo of US company Swig reflects: “I noticed there was no premium hydration company offering the variety of cup shapes women want, and certainly not in colours that appeal to a female demographic”. In addition to the appealing style, the technology behind the range includes double wall, vacuum-sealed insulation and leak and shatterproof lids. The range includes the first stainless steel insulated stemless wine cup on the market, which Tracee notes was an instant hit. Ultimate Products’ (UPGS) Cambridge Sippy Mugs are a good example of the breadth of patterns and styles to be found in coffee travel mugs. UPGS’ senior buyer Katie Maxwell states: “This is a trend that isn’t going away with more and more consumers recognising their individual accountability for the impact the products they are using have on the environment.“ UPGS’ in-house artists design the range, which is handpainted. Katie confides that, given the success of this year, there will be substantial investment for 2019, keeping the brand at the forefront of style. Finally, with a heritage that is over 110 years old, Thermos continues to innovate, with is sleek Super Light range. Perhaps it is no surprise that, in a year when hydration and food on the go are booming, it was this long established brand that scooped the Icon Award in the recent Excellence in Housewares Awards. PROGRESSIVE
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HOUSEWARES